Caregiving is a journey filled with both profound love and immense challenges. Whether you're navigating medical appointments, managing daily tasks, or simply trying to stay emotionally grounded, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Amidst the chaos, finding moments to reflect, release, and recharge is essential for your well-being. That’s where journaling comes in—a simple yet powerful tool that can transform your caregiving experience.

Why Journaling Matters for Caregivers

Journaling isn't just about putting pen to paper; it's about creating a safe space for your thoughts, emotions, and reflections. Here are some of the key benefits that make journaling an invaluable practice for caregivers:

1. Emotional Release and Stress Reduction

Caregiving often involves managing a whirlwind of emotions—from frustration and sadness to guilt and exhaustion. Journaling provides a safe outlet to process these feelings, helping to reduce anxiety and prevent burnout. By...

What do you do when you are in a funk, super overstressed, and are stuck in this bad space? 

Affirmations are a self-help strategy used to prompt self-confidence and belief in your own abilities.  They're positive statements that can help you to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging  and negative thoughts. When you repeat them often, and believe in them, you can start to make positive changes.

Affirmation can help you shift your mindset.  Help you believe yourself even when you are fearful or have failed.   

Neuroplasticity, or your brain’s ability to change and adapt to different circumstances throughout your life, offers a clue to help understand not only what makes affirmations work, but how to make them more effective.

Your brain sometimes gets a little mixed up on the difference between reality and imagination, which can be surprisingly useful.

Creating a mental image of yourself doing something activates many of the same brain...

Gratitude is a gift — and gratitude changes everything. When we allow ourselves to look critically at our lives through the lens of gratitude, and to focus on the many reasons we have to be grateful, life gets better. ... A focus on gratitude reduces stress and increases levels of contentment. It truly is life-changing.

Resilient people proactively cultivate positive emotions like humor, gratitude and optimism. You don’t even have to find anything to be grateful for. The simple act of looking for the positive decreases the stress hormone cortisol by 23%. Just looking for something to appreciate increases serotonin and dopamine, the feel-good neurochemicals in most antidepressants.

Gratitude affects your brain at a neurological level. A gratitude practice has a positive impact on: sleep, mood, alertness, physical risk markers for future disease, happiness, better financial decision making, problem solving, optimism, productivity, and goal orientation. People...

When my Dad passed in 2018, my Mom was left with all of Dad's belongings. Amidst the decisions of what to keep or give away, one precious gift stood out—his journals, over 40 years' worth, started in 1972. Evenings after sorting through belongings turned into shared moments of joy and tears as we read entries that captured a lifetime.

Inspired by Dad's dedication, I embarked on my own journaling journey. However, I soon faced challenges—finding time, understanding its importance, and staring at a blank page. My structured, disciplined nature clashed with the freeform approach.

Determined to unravel the benefits, I delved into the neuroscience of journaling. Structured journals became my allies, offering prompts that eased the process. Gratitude journaling emerged as a powerful tool, reshaping my mindset by focusing on positivity.

With a commitment to just five minutes daily, my journal became a sanctuary. Gratitude and wins intertwined, fostering a shift in my...

Just 4 weeks after starting my caregiving journey, I stood at the starting line to run my half marathon.  I struggled, cried, and just about quit until I got to mile 10.  

I was numb.   I was lost.   I felt like I lost my purpose.   I was faking everything.   I was supposed to be the supportive wife - Denis was the one sick and needed me.   

I remember getting up on that October Saturday morning and it gray, cloudy with drizzly rain.   It was time to run my half marathon that I trained 12 weeks for.  The only issue is that the last 4 weeks were a total mess.   My Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  Then Denis was diagnosed with CLL.   In those 4 weeks, I was  trying to work, run my business, going to doctor appointments and chemotherapy.  I didn’t run much in the last 4 weeks and my nutrition and diet was terrible.   When you ramp up to race day,  your main focus should...

It was just six weeks after my husband's diagnosis and I was privately searching for help.   I was silently feeling more and more overwhelmed with feelings of uncertainty, worry, stress and sadness.   These negative thoughts and feelings were consuming my day and distracting me from what was really happening.  

My normal morning routine changed and I had to figure out this new normal now.  So I decided to upload the book"Girl Wash Your Face" by Rachel Hollis on Audible.  Little did I know that Rachel's words would help me shift my routine.    I found peace in walking and listening to her motivation and positivity.   Eventually I heard her talk about journaling gratitude and the benefits she gained.   

I bought my first "Start Today" journal from The Hollis Company.  It structured a daily practice where you write down the 5 things you are grateful for each day.  You really didn't need to...